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Preventing Extinctions

Photo: Valerie Lehouck

Thousands of plants and animals around the world are currently experiencing rapid declines. The numbers are clear: today, one in eight of the world’s 10,000 bird species are threatened with extinction, of which more than 200 are categorised as Critically Endangered, the highest category of threat of extinction.

The vultures of Africa and Eurasia are suffering from complex and severe threats. No fewer than eight of the 16 species are Critically Endangered. This makes them a top priority for the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme and action is being taken in all regions.

From Seychelles to the Pacific and from the South American rainforest to isolated European outposts, the expertise needed to prevent species extinction within the Partnership is immense. The BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme uses the network of individuals and organisations within its global Partnership to find those best placed to combat the threats, and to match them to the help and support needed.

White-shouldered Ibis Pseudibis davisoni and Giant Ibis Thaumatibis gigantea are large wading birds now found almost exclusively in the forests of Cambodia. Both are Critically Endangered, and are ‘flagship species’ in Cambodia; Giant Ibis is the country’s national bird.

The Azores Bullfinch is endemic to the Azores, Portugal, where it is confined to native forests in the east of the island of São Miguel. It was locally abundant in the nineteenth century, but underwent a steep decline and is now restricted to a very small range (102 km2) because of widespread clearance of native forest for forestry plantations and agriculture.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper is a small and extremely charismatic wader with a spatulate bill. It has a naturally limited breeding range on the Chukotsk peninsula south to Kamchatka peninsula, in northeastern Russia.

Araripe Manakin was described in 1998 and has now been recorded from three municipalities (Crato, Barbalha and Missao Velha), all on the north-eastern slope of the Chapada do Araripe, south Ceará, Brazil. A recent census, which visited 93% of the known water springs, represents the most comprehensive survey of the species ever and resulted in an estimate of 779 individuals, suggesting that the species' population is more or less stable.

Conservation is working: 25 bird species have been saved from the Critically Endangered category this century alone. Read five of the most inspiring stories of birds that have recovered thanks to the dedication of conservationists and communities.

Keen-eyed readers will note that we ‘lost’ a species in the 2017 Red List update – the Liberian Greenbul is no longer recognised as a valid species by BirdLife. But mourn not its loss: this is simply the latest in a long line of taxonomic avian mysteries to have been solved...

Conservationists braved the mountainous landscape of São Tomé Island in the first ever comprehensive study of three elusive bird species, with fascinating results. But their findings also highlight the urgent need for better management of the Natural Park.

For a while, it looked like they might actually be in recovery. But this year’s census of the American subspecies, the rufa Red Knot, found that numbers have plummeted to an all-time low. The likely cause? Food shortages in Delaware Bay, a crucial feeding stopover site on their migration.

Pest control is saving more than just the Kiwi: species that haven't been seen for years are reappearing in New Zealand's forests. Ann Graeme shares inspiring stories of native birds, plants and insects that have returned after community conservation for a different species - "The Lazarus Effect."